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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23424349">Distance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgina_bulsara/pseuds/georgina_bulsara'>georgina_bulsara</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Broadchurch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Ellie is in training to become a detective, Alternate Universe - Hardy never came to Broadchurch, F/M, Gen, Hopeful Ending, POV Ellie Miller (Broadchurch), alec and ellie are social distancing, alec and ellie support each other during these trying times, o my god they were zoommates, probably light angst given the circumstances of the show plus quarantine, quarantine fic, rambling about being in quarantine, snapshot of life during pandemic, this author has never used zoom in her life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:55:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23424349</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgina_bulsara/pseuds/georgina_bulsara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellie is about to start training to become a detective sergeant for Broadchurch CID when the pandemic hits. She meets DI Alec Hardy when she signs onto Zoom for her first online training course.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alec Hardy &amp; Ellie Miller, Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I never planned on writing a quarantine fic, but then I saw <a href="https://georginabulsara.tumblr.com/post/613720711386873856">this post</a> on tumblr and all of a sudden I had to. I feel like I needed to acknowledge how weird life is right now through fic before I could go back to writing stuff in an alternate universe where none of this is happening. </p><p>I purposefully didn't research for this, so I don't know how police training works, how covid-19 is being handled in small towns in Dorset, or even how Zoom works. Please accept that this is just an excuse for me to write Alec and Ellie meeting via conference calls during a pandemic and providing comfort to each other, because that is comforting to me.</p><p>I’m also making the possibly incorrect assumption that police activity is generally reduced during quarantine, but that’s mainly because I wanted Ellie to be experiencing the “hours at home with nothing to do” side of quarantine for the purposes of this fic</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ellie was mostly glad that this whole pandemic situation had had the decency not to arrive before her ex-husband had been put in jail for manslaughter. It was the least she could ask for in this life, that seemed apparently set on dealing her the worst cards. The death of her best friend’s boy, her own son’s best friend, followed by witnessing the fracturing of her entire close-knit community, not to mention the horrific realisation that the man she trusted most in her life was entirely responsible. </p><p>And now this. The entire world, brought to a sudden halt as it grappled with the virus and its fallout. </p><p>She was trying to run through a list of the positives every day when she woke up. It was a technique she’d been attempting even before the whole global emergency began—life was shit, but what were the few positives she could focus on? Most things were out of her control, but her therapist told her that we <em>could</em> control our outlook, even if it was difficult. </p><p>Although it had been a year since Broadchurch CID had finally taken Joe Miller into custody, the community was very much still healing. Ellie was still healing, and her relationship with Beth was still healing. At this point in the process of grieving, Ellie would normally be starting to slowly venture back into a semi-normal lifestyle, going to the pub, taking day trips to nearby beaches, perhaps even remedying her relationship with her sister. </p><p>But that wasn’t possible anymore. It wasn’t possible for anyone. The High Street was deserted; in the slow acceptance of the gravity of the situation, pubs and restaurants had been the last to go. Schools were now virtual classrooms, but they may as well have just cancelled the school year. If Tom had trouble doing his homework before, he sure as hell wasn’t doing it now that he had the distraction of the internet at his constant disposal. And Ellie didn’t have it in her to berate him right now.  </p><p>Instead of looking at the news, which was never good, she started the days with some breathing exercises. She’d never been one for yoga, but putting direct attention to her breathing seemed like a good start to days that were unstructured and stressful. Weeding the garden was another activity that she’d never done before, but now seemed paramount to her sanity.  </p><p>Ellie was also focusing her energies on career advancement. Not the most opportune time, granted, but if the investigation that led to Joe’s arrest had taught her anything, it was that she wanted more than anything to become a responsible detective. Being a police constable was well and good, but it didn’t fulfill her any longer. </p><p>She’d enrolled at the nearest academy before all this had happened. She would have had to drive two hours every day to sit in a stuffy lecture hall, but now all that had changed. All courses had been moved online, and the scheduling was a nightmare. Field work was indefinitely postponed. </p><p>Most of the people taking the classes were still required to work in some capacity, since they were almost all in law enforcement already. Luckily, there were multiple instructors and most of them were able to give smaller video conferences that best accommodated the schedules of the students. </p><p>Ellie had signed up for the 9 pm lecturer. Usually she could get Fred in bed by then, and Tom was happy to play video games, as he did for most of the rest of the day. On days that she had to work, Fred would be clingy and more difficult to put to bed, but it was easier than switching back and forth between instructors or fitting in class between shifts. </p><p>The first session, Ellie set up her laptop at the kitchen table. She’d been home all day, in a jumper and tracksuit bottoms, but for the sake of professionalism, she changed to an actual blouse and a blazer before the meeting. She placed the laptop so that the bookshelf would be in the background, rather than the collection of mugs and dirty dishes on the counter. </p><p>Zoom was new for her. Ellie considered herself relatively tech-savvy, but working in a rural police jurisdiction with generally low crime rates, the department was probably a few years behind on technological updates. The app was user-friendly though, and she was able to join the call without a problem. </p><p>Unfortunately, the window that popped up was a blurry mess, and her laptop speakers screeched with feedback. </p><p>“Tom!! Can you stop using the internet for one second!” Ellie shouted in the direction of the stairs. The internet became sluggish whenever he was on one of his games. </p><p>“Jesus, could ye not yell?!” The voice from the computer came through surprisingly clearly, although the image was still pixelated and delayed. </p><p>“Oh, sorry, is the mic on?” </p><p>“Aye! It is!” Slowly the screen came into focus and Ellie could make out the disgruntled face of the instructor, one Alec Hardy. Frown firmly in place, hands raised to remove earbuds from his ears, he looked like he was going to be a real treat to interact with. </p><p>Ellie eyed the fridge, where she’d stashed a few beers from the last time she’d ventured to the shops. In the name of being a student again, she was set on resisting the temptation, but a cold beer was starting to feel like the only way to get through an hour of this. </p><p>“Sorry, sir.”</p><p>He ignored the apology. “Can you hear me?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Right, let’s start on the first module then…” Ellie rolled her eyes, before remembering that her camera was on and he could probably see her. Not that she really cared. Neither of them wanted to be doing this at 9 o’clock at night, clearly, and it was probably best not to waste any time on idle small talk. “...unless you had any questions?”</p><p>“No. Except, well, how are you?” Fight back with kindness, had always been her motto. She needed to remember that in these times more than anything. </p><p>Hardy barely grunted in response, and instead shared his screen to display the material. His face was reduced to a small box at the top right of the screen, frowning out at her as he began a very dry lecture on the basics of crime investigation. Ellie switched her mic off so she could sigh loudly at regular intervals without disturbing him. </p><p>When the hour was up, Hardy confirmed the time for the next lecture, and signed off without a single word goodbye. No ‘take care,’ or ‘hope you’re staying safe,’ or even a ‘good night.’ </p><p>Ellie tried to let go of her bitter feelings towards the whole situation as she tidied the kitchen, plugged in her laptop, cleared some of Fred’s toys off the floor. Everyone was under a lot of stress right now, and that included police academy instructors with a lack of social skills. If she could get him to at the very least greet her by name and ask how she was doing by the end of the online course term, she’d consider it a success. </p><p>---</p><p>The next day, Ellie busied herself with dedication. She brought Fred over to the Latimer’s in the morning before working a shift. On her way home she delivered groceries to the front steps of some of the more elderly residents of Broadchurch—the town had set up a system to help out, thanks to Paul Coates and Maggie Radcliff’s initiative, which helped to reduce the number of people out in public.</p><p>At home, Ellie stretched out her activities so that she wouldn’t find herself with nothing to do and hours to go until she had to sign onto Zoom. She rang her father, assured him that they were staying safe and practicing social distancing. Before she’d abruptly become a single parent, Ellie had been the one to spend the entire day outside of the house. Joe had done most of the cooking, a good portion of the household tasks, and Ellie had been the breadwinner who got home late. She’d struggled to come up with meals for her and the boys for a while, but by now cooking had thankfully become a pastime she enjoyed. She flicked through a cookbook of international dishes, planning out a meal. She forced Tom to come on a walk round the neighbourhood with her and Fred, then let them watch TV while she got started on dinner. </p><p>Time passed slowly, yet she didn’t really notice it going by. In this gelatinous period of uncertainty, did it really matter if she spent an hour just staring out the window? Scrolling through every possible chonky cat video she could find would not make her late for any meetings, or for picking up the boys from school. She could take a shower whenever she wanted, rather than fitting it in at the break of dawn before a full work day. </p><p>Any sense of normalcy that she’d begun to feel had flown out the window, and sometimes she just wanted to cry. She tried to limit those times and have them overlap with showers so she didn’t startle Fred and Tom. They’d seen her cry enough times already ever since Danny’s death. </p><p>By the time 9 pm rolled around, Ellie was showered, everyone was fed, Tom had promised to stay off the internet for an hour, and she felt sufficiently human to attend a virtual lecture. Hardy had been wearing not only a suit but also a tie last time, so she returned to her blazer. He hadn’t seemed to deem shaving necessary though, so Ellie didn’t bother with anything more than a brush of mascara for makeup. </p><p>“Alright?” he said once she’d entered the meeting. She was unsure if he was asking her how she was, or suggesting that they get started. </p><p>She decided to go with the more optimistic option. “I’m OK, how about you?”</p><p>There was a low light illuminating Hardy’s face and he seemed to be in front of the closed blinds of a window. Ellie hadn’t really noticed during their first meeting, but she could see now that he was probably close to her age, and just as tired. She wondered briefly if he had kids, a family, if he was conducting these meetings as far away as he could get from those he was quarantined with. </p><p>She had to keep on wondering, because Hardy was not the sharing type. He heaved a non committal sigh, muttered, “yeah, OK.” His hand, which had been cradling his head, moved out of the frame as he crossed his arms. “Shall we get started? D’you have any questions from last time?” </p><p>Ellie shook her head. The connection was good enough for the video to be clear, and for her to almost be able to feel like there was a grumpy Scottish man with her in the kitchen. Hardy launched into the material; he wasn’t particularly passionate in lecturing, but his accent at the very least prevented it from being a complete monotonous drone. </p><p>It wasn’t really necessary, but she kept her camera on throughout the lecture. It helped her focus, knowing that he could see her and would probably be able to tell if she started to zone out. At one point, she craved a cup of tea. She waited til he got to the end of a thought, then piped up, “Carry on, I’m just getting a cuppa!” </p><p>Pulled out of his monologue, Hardy looked like he’d just remembered she was there. He was distracted for a split second, eyes darting around the screen before he nodded and started talking again. </p><p>At the end of the hour, Ellie felt surprisingly relaxed. It might have been the Tension Tamer tea, or maybe it was that she was getting used to Hardy’s voice. Although gruff at first, she could now appreciate the calming quality it had, as he soldiered on through the modules. </p><p>Upstairs, Ellie bid good night to Tom, who was staring at the ceiling with headphones on. Surprisingly, falling asleep wasn’t as challenging as it had been in the last weeks, and she drifted off peacefully only to be jolted awake when Fred ran into her bed at 2 am.  </p><p>---</p><p>Meetings with Hardy were starting to go more smoothly. Ellie had thought it would be strange to learn police work—a profession that really relied on confronting people face to face—from a remote setting. But a good portion of detective training was all about theory, and even without quarantine, she’d still have to sit through all the material of the course and pass the exam before she could implement it all in the real world. </p><p>And Hardy wasn’t a terrible instructor. She’d grown accustomed to his style, which was to keep talking until Ellie interrupted him. She started to interrupt him more often, taking any chance she could to make it more of a dialogue, which was how she learned best. He’d lose his train of thought, which, based on his whole personality, was sure to trigger the anger that lingered just below the surface of his composure. But, every time, he humoured her additions to the conversation, eyes jumping to alertness whenever she made a particularly poignant observation. </p><p>One evening in the second week, Hardy ended the conference call in a different way than usual. </p><p>“G’night, Miller.”</p><p>Ellie hesitated for a moment. On the one hand, she liked the way the name sounded in his accent and in his voice. Unlike any other context she’d heard it in recently. But still…</p><p>“If you wouldn’t mind using my first name, please. It’s just that I’m trying to go back to my maiden name so I’d prefer not to go by Miller.” Too much information? Perhaps. But Hardy was quickly becoming a fixture in her life, and as one of the few people she interacted with daily during quarantine, she wanted to be on a first name basis. </p><p>“Oh shit, sorry,” Hardy said hurriedly, eyes darting beneath his frown. </p><p>“It’s alright, you couldn’t have known,” she reassured him. “Please call me Ellie.”</p><p>Hardy (or Alec, she figured she should be able to call him now) removed his glasses and ran a hand down his face. “Ach… I did know, actually. I… thought I recognised you from the Broadchurch case. ‘M sorry.” </p><p>“Oh.” Ellie wasn’t sure whether to be mad or grateful. “You knew this whole time?” </p><p>“Aye. Wasn’t sure if I should mention it or not…” </p><p>“Well, I’m glad I don’t have to explain.” She hadn’t really ever <em>had </em>to explain it before, given that everybody knew, and she wasn’t sure how she’d go about it anyway. </p><p>“Don’t have to explain anything. I won’t bring it up again.” </p><p>Ellie didn’t know how to respond to that. She’d never heard such genuineness from Hardy before. “Good night, Alec.”</p><p>Hardy grimaced. “Don’t like <em>Alec</em>,” he scowled, as if that was all there was to say on the matter. </p><p>Well, Ellie thought. It was gone 10. That’d be a conversation for another day. </p><p>The next day, some things clicked into place for Ellie as she was driving around the coast on traffic duty. She didn’t know why she hadn’t realised it before, perhaps scruffy and Scottish wasn’t what she’d imagined those few years back when she’d read the news. </p><p>“<em>You’re </em>Alec Hardy!” she said as soon as his face appeared on her screen that night. </p><p>“...<em>yeah</em>.” </p><p>“The DI from the Sandbrook investigation!” </p><p>His mouth went very tight, and even from the small window of the screen, she perceived a change in his posture. He suddenly looked very tired, even more so than usual. </p><p>“R’you going to ask for another instructor now? Don’t trust me to give you the right information?”</p><p>“No,” she hastened to say, “I didn’t say that. I just realised why your name sounded familiar, is all.” </p><p>He seemed to accept that she wasn’t trying to invalidate him.  </p><p>“Could the case ever open again?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Not anytime soon, with all this going on.”</p><p>She nodded solemnly. Getting into a long discussion on the complexities of finding compelling new evidence, on top of the uncertainties of working during a global pandemic, was not exactly a conversation she felt like having this late at night. “Speaking of, my schedule is all messed up these days, and I haven’t eaten yet. Do you mind if I make myself some pasta while you lecture?” </p><p>Ellie had the laptop on the counter, next to the empty Pot Noodle Tom had left from his dinner earlier. She was already filling a pot with water when Hardy responded, causing her to miss the first half of his rant. “–be sure you’re listening to me if yer attention is on the bloody stove–”</p><p>“Relax, DI Grouchy! I just have to boil some water, my full attention will be on you. Especially since you’re such a <em>captivating </em>orator.” </p><p>He scowled at the jab but didn’t continue his protest. “Have you already eaten?” she asked, in a daring attempt to get him to open up, even if it was just about his meal.</p><p>“Not hungry. Right, I’ll begin then.” He put on his glasses. “Just try to stay in the frame, please, so I know you haven’t buggered off and left me talkin’ to an empty room.” </p><p>Ellie smiled and tilted the screen so she was in full view. She almost giggled. It looked like she was about to livestream a how-to and show Hardy how to do the most basic cooking task known to humankind. She stifled the desire to laugh and switched on the burner. </p><p>---</p><p>It was bound to happen at some point. Ellie was just in disbelief that it had happened at a time like this. There was a storm, which was perfectly cosy for an afternoon of self-isolation inside, but once it was over, the internet had gone out. Ellie had had Tom reboot the router and do every other possible thing they could think of to fix it, but at 7 pm it looked like it was going to be an evening without WiFi. </p><p>Usually, of course, this wasn’t much of a problem. She’d just give Fred his nighttime story before putting him to bed, and bribe Tom with chocolate to play a fun board game with her until they were tired. Theoretically she could still do this, but entertaining the kids was so much harder without the set hours of the day during which they were in school. They’d already played games today, and Fred was losing interest in the books he had. </p><p>As Ellie was giving Fred a bath and trying to convince Tom that maybe he could read a book instead, she had an additional pang of annoyance—she couldn’t log onto her class with Hardy without an internet connection. All the libraries and public spaces were shut down, so there was no taking her computer anywhere else, and she’d forgotten to download Zoom onto her phone. </p><p>9 o’clock neared and the internet still wasn’t on, no matter how many times she tried refreshing web pages. “Shit,” she muttered, remembering that she didn’t even have Hardy’s contact information outside of the Zoom app. </p><p>It was less annoyance at missing a class, and more a feeling of sharp disappointment. Except on weekends, she and Hardy had been talking once a day, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t look forward to it a little. </p><p>Ellie started scrolling through her swamped work email, looking for anything that might contain Hardy’s contact information. The minutes sped by with no luck. Feelings of sadness and anger swarmed in Ellie’s stomach, making her want to scream or run. This shouldn’t be such a big deal. But she still wanted to scream.</p><p>At 9:15, her phone rang. She swiped to answer on the second ring, even though it was an unknown number. Area code looked like it was probably from outside of Dorset.</p><p>“Hello?” she answered abruptly. </p><p>“M- Ellie?” </p><p>She recognised his voice immediately, even though she was usually tone deaf to people’s voices over the phone. “Yep.”</p><p>“Are you OK?” </p><p>“I’m fine, how did you have my number?”</p><p>“D’you know what time it is?” he asked sternly. “And you provided your number when you signed up for the course, which you are currently skiving off.” </p><p>“No, look, I was trying to contact you. The bloody internet crashed and I can’t get online to connect. I’ll have to wait til tomorrow to call the provider.” </p><p>“Oh. Well, that’s fine, we won’t be that behind if we miss a day. Just wanted to make sure… everythin’ was alright.”</p><p>“Quite right.” It was weird talking to him without being able to see his face. In a way, it almost felt more intimate. Like this was the way they would talk to each other if they were anything more than instructor and pupil, if this was a call to check in at the end of the day and make sure they both had gotten through it. “I’m OK. Just tired of this.” She desperately wanted to continue the conversation, get things off her chest. “I miss seeing people, going out, going to the pub! Don’t you?”</p><p>“Nah… not really.” He was probably an introvert. She envied them a little these days, as she tried not to go crazy from lack of human interaction.  </p><p>“You’re still on active duty though, I assume. Higher ranked police still have to carry on with normal operations.” </p><p>“Not for me. I have a… a condition.” He said it as if he contested the term, but had given in to using it as a descriptor. </p><p>“Oh?” Ellie flopped onto the sofa and waited for Hardy to elaborate. She was willing to bully him into it if he didn’t. </p><p>“It’s nothing. Just my heart. Not supposed to expose myself too much.”
</p><p>Ellie let her concern slip into her voice, not really caring that she didn’t know Alec Hardy from Adam, or that to be honest he could be a bit of a knob. “Are you OK?”
</p><p>“I’m <em>fine</em>.” </p><p>“If you’re not working, you must <em>really </em>miss people and getting out of the house. I at least get to drive around a bit and yell at people for not self-isolating.” She paused. “What have you been doing with all this time?”</p><p>“Not much, to be honest.”</p><p>“Are you cooped up with family?”</p><p> “Nope, I’m all alone. Well, divorced.” Ellie suddenly felt bad for wheedling him into sharing this much information. It was painting a pretty pathetic picture right now, and she sighed in sympathy. </p><p>“It’s fine,” he murmured. It did not sound fine. </p><p>“When was the last time you saw or spoke to a person for a non work-related reason?” </p><p>The line was silent for a moment. “Talked to my daughter yesterday.” </p><p>“How old is she?”</p><p>“16. She’s thrilled because she thinks she won’t have to take her GCSEs because of this.” He let out a breathy laugh. “Told her she should still be studyin’.” </p><p>“It’s hard for students to focus right now, I don’t blame her for not wanting to study.” </p><p>“Says the woman who’s been studying like mad for the past three weeks.” </p><p>“Not going to fail me, then?” </p><p>“Welllll, you did just skip a class without permission.” </p><p>They carried on talking and lightly teasing each other, slowly veering towards mundane topics, like what their eating habits had become, how they couldn’t be arsed to change out of pyjama bottoms anymore. Ellie got up to brew tea and caught the time—it was half ten. What had she been talking to Alec Hardy about for over an hour? She was flummoxed that she’d managed to get him to say anything not related to the course, but very glad that he had. When was the last time she’d just talked to someone like this? There was an ease in their conversation, despite the frequent jabs and disagreements, that she didn’t have with anyone else, bar maybe Beth. </p><p>Eventually, they said good night, and Ellie fell asleep thinking of pleasant things and the importance of human connections, rather than of all the ways the world was terrible right now. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>social distance bonding to be continued in next chapter, as well as being able to meet in person (i say this without having written it, but i'm pretty sure i will include a real meeting)</p><p>like i said, i don't use zoom because my job is non-essential and can't be done online, so drop me a line on tumblr whenever you please, my schedule is very open (main is <a href="https://georginabulsara.tumblr.com/">@georginabulsara</a>, writing sideblog is @georginawriting). comments also are always welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoy this second bit! Apologies for how messy it might read, I had very little patience with editing</p><p>I've marked this as complete, but I reserve the right to come back later and add on to it. I just feel like, as of right now, I've done what I wanted to do.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ellie woke up well-rested and feeling hopeful—about her situation, about the future, about the amount of milk she had left in the fridge. She looked out the window at the field where Tom and Danny used to play football and saw an older man sat on a foldable chair, strumming a guitar. An orange cat circled him and a rare glimpse of sunlight bathed half the field, creating a beautiful she took the time to appreciate. </p><p>When she picked up her phone, bracing herself for the daily barrage of bad news, a text message notification distracted her. </p><p>
  <em>Hope last night wasn’t too weird. Enjoyed talking to you</em>
</p><p>Ellie felt her face break into a wide smile. She immediately added the number to her contacts under Hardy’s name before typing out a reply. </p><p>
  <em>Not weird at all. glad we could chat </em>
</p><p>She didn’t include, “you really calmed me down, thanks for listening,” but she certainly thought it and hoped her gratitude came across in the message. </p><p>
  <em>Good. Talk tonight</em>
</p><p>Talk tonight. He meant during class, surely? Or did he mean informally like they had the night before? Would he extend their class time so they could continue talking? </p><p>All of a sudden Ellie found herself feeling nervous for a Zoom meeting in the same way she used to be nervous for first dates. Which was ridiculous because not only was it <em>not </em>a date, but it was also with a person she had never met in real life, and probably never would. One phone call, in extreme, global-event circumstances, did not make someone your best friend. When all this was over and they went back to doing their regular jobs, Alec Hardy would probably forget that she even existed. </p><p>The flip side of this coin was, however, that at least getting jittery over a call with Alec Hardy provided an excellent distraction to get through the long, empty day. Time that would otherwise be spent in a vicious cycle of reading the news and watching escapist television, Ellie could spend instead wondering about Alec. There was so much she didn’t know about him. What was his favourite part of the job? What was his heart condition and how did it affect him? How had he ended up in England? How tall was he?</p><p>Half an hour deep into a sun-splashed fantasy of being the DS to Alec’s DI in Broadchurch CID, Ellie got a message from Beth suggesting they take the kids out to the field to enjoy the slightly warmer weather. It couldn’t be any further from old times—Danny wasn’t there, his absence exacerbated by Tom’s loneliness. And rather than sit and play together, Ellie and Beth kept their distance on separate picnic blankets, watching Lizzie crawl around curiously in the grass. </p><p>Ellie and Beth still didn’t talk much. Before, they’d shared almost everything, but now Ellie was hesitant to say anything that would remind them both of what had happened. They stuck to surface-level updates of how they were doing, and abandoned conversation to sit in companionable silence when it got to be too much. </p><p>“Do you think you’d go mad if you were quarantined alone?” Ellie asked, thinking of Alec. </p><p>“I might,” Beth replied contemplatively, reclining with her hands propped behind her. “But I’m going just as crazy with everyone in the house, I think. Not being able to work is the worst part of it.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Ellie agreed. She shifted on her blanket. “The bloke who’s teaching my detective training course is stuck at home all alone, and he can’t even work! ‘Cause he has some heart condition or something, so he’s only allowed to give lectures from home.”</p><p>“Oh, I’d be a nervous wreck if that were me.”</p><p>“Me too. He doesn’t seem that way though. At least, not when I talk to him.”</p><p>“Part of the job, to remain calm. I’d think.” Beth had had her fair share of experiences with detectives who struggled with that aspect of the job. Ellie thought about Alec Hardy’s seemingly subdued demeanor and wondered if he would’ve handled finding Danny’s murderer any better, or if he had a turbulent side to him that she didn’t know about. She didn’t know the details of the Sandbrook case, but her gut told her that it wasn’t his fault the families never had closure. </p><p>Later in the evening, Ellie set up the computer at her usual spot. Since it was a little warmer, she left the blazer off and just wore a button-down blouse with her usual pyjama bottoms. She still was feeling inexplicably a little nervous, but looking over her notes from the last meeting helped to get her more in the right mindset. This was just a video call for professional purposes—he would not be judging her based on her appearance or wit. Well, at least not her wit outside of what was required for the course, in any case. </p><p>When Hardy appeared on the screen, Ellie felt a surge of affection towards him from the sheer familiarity of his face. Missing Monday’s class the night before had made it the longest stretch of time they’d gone without video calling, and Ellie couldn’t help but smile at him. </p><p>He greeted her with a slight smile and a nod. “Shall we?”</p><p>Throughout the lecture, during which he packed in twice the amount of information as usual to make up for the missed class, Ellie found herself distracted by what they may or may not talk about once the hour was up. Would he tell her what he’d made for dinner? Would he ask what she’d done that day, or how the weather was? Maybe she could tell him about how she and Fred played bartender sometimes, and fixed each other drinks in the kitchen while pretending they were out at the pub. </p><p>45 minutes into the lecture, Ellie heard a distinctive wail from upstairs. She flagged down Hardy with a wave. “Sorry, that’s my son, I’ll have to go check on him. Do you mind?” </p><p>Alec leaned forward from where he’d been comfortably reclined and crossed his arms. “Not at all. Er… if it’s better, we can cut it short here and I’ll make up for it tomorrow.” A shadow of discomfort crossed his face. </p><p>Ellie supposed it didn’t make sense to try to finish class if Fred was going to be whining in her ear about not being able to see his friends at school (he was a terribly social boy). “Ok, tomorrow then.”</p><p>---</p><p>The next day, Ellie's phone pinged with a message as she was driving home from work. Figuring it was probably Lucy complaining about how annoying Oliver was when they were both cooped up and not able to go out to the pub, she ignored it until after she got home and showered. The day was dreary, non-stop rain obscuring the view out the windows. She settled on the couch in the living room where Tom and Fred were engrossed in some day-time television programme. Finally pulling out her phone, her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was not from Lucy, but from Alec. </p><p>
  <em>Have a moment to talk? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s fine if not</em>
</p><p>Before she had time to reconsider, Ellie hit the call button and moved into the kitchen. After a few rings, she thought it would go to voicemail, but he eventually answered in a gruff voice. She hesitated before speaking. </p><p>“Sorry, I just saw your message. Everything alright?”  </p><p>“Yeah. I was just… my daughter was busy and not replying to my texts earlier. Wanted to talk to someone…”</p><p>Ellie could hear the disappointment in his voice from not being able to talk to his daughter, the frustration. Alec Hardy, the dad who was always away from home working and missing his family, but now was stuck at home without his family, or his work. </p><p>“I’ve got nothing on, just got back from work and have nothing ‘til our class,” she reassured him. She didn’t want him to think he was inconveniencing her—if anything, she welcomed any distraction possible from her children. “What’s your daughter’s name?”</p><p>He sighed, hopefully an exhalation to let out his anxieties. “Daisy. She’s been good about  talkin’ to me more recently, but I think it’s just because her mother and her mother’s boyfriend are driving her mad in quarantine.” </p><p>“Mm. Too bad she can’t come stay with you.” </p><p>“I’ve been tryin’ to get her to come stay with me for so long, but now it definitely won’t happen. I miss having her around, teasin’ me.”</p><p>“Of course you do. And I’m sure she’s missing you as well.” Ellie paused, debating on whether what she wanted to say would be too much for the stage their relationship was currently in. But quarantine brought out a need for reaching out to people, and Ellie was fairly certain Alec would never have been this candid with her if it weren’t for the circumstances. Too much time alone to think, was what it was. </p><p>“Look, I know it feels awfully lonely right now. Especially for you, being all alone and not able to work, and I’m really sorry. But I think you should remember that we’re <em>not </em>all alone, people will always be there for each other. I thought, after everything that happened in Broadchurch, that I’d never be able trust anyone again, and that no one in this town would trust me. But I’ve found that most people are incredibly caring and want to look out for each other. Because that’s what will get us all through this, even if it’s difficult.”</p><p>There was silence on the line. Then, accompanied by a breath of a laugh, “Didn’t know you were so soppy, Ellie.”</p><p>“I was trying to be sincere, you knob,” Ellie spat back, without any real bite. </p><p>“Naaa, I appreciate it. Really.”</p><p>“I can stick to just teasing, if you prefer.”</p><p>He laughed again and Ellie felt as if another layer of whatever barrier there was between them had deteriorated a little more. </p><p>So much so, that later in the evening when she was sitting down for the Zoom meeting (on the couch instead of at the kitchen table), she did not change out of her comfortable beige jumper. It was past 9pm, after all, and sharing quarantine struggles with someone seemed to warrant them seeing you in quarantine attire. She’d at least showered today.</p><p>As soon as Hardy signed on, she could see that he hadn’t altered one single thing about his appearance. Still in front of the same background, he was in his usual business attire and scruffy beard. “You’re wearing a suit! And tie!”</p><p>“...I always wear a suit,” he replied with a confused frown as he tilted his computer to a better angle. “Is that wrong?”</p><p>“Well, no, I just decided we’ve been doing this long enough, I might as well be comfortable.”</p><p>“Oh, did you move somewhere else? The lighting is terrible, I can barely see you.”</p><p>“That’s just as well, as I’ve got on a jumper I’ve been wearing for six days straight.” She leaned over to turn on a lamp anyway. “Wouldn’t you rather wear something a little more comfortable? It is nighttime, after all.”</p><p>“Eh,” Alec sighed, “time means nothing.” But he unfastened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt as if to acknowledge that Ellie was right, and there was no need to maintain the appearance of normality any longer. </p><p>---</p><p>From then on, Ellie saw more and more of what she presumed was the true Alec Hardy, and not the grumpy, tight-lipped facade he projected in his professional life. He was still grumpy, but now he was grumpy in cosy blue jumpers and only one or two well-placed jabs away from a hint of a smile. </p><p>Their Zoom schedule became slightly more flexible, although they kept to the evenings because Ellie secretly preferred to have the class function as a sort of calming ritual before she went to bed. Some days they would eat dinner together during the call, inevitably running overtime because they’d discussed not-police-work for too long. Ellie tried to remember the last time she shared a pleasant meal with someone—she couldn’t think of a single memory that wasn’t now tainted. Eating her nachos while through the screen, Alec Hardy picked at a chick pea salad, seemed like a pleasant enough substitute. </p><p>Alec met both Fred and Tom eventually, when Tom would wander downstairs for a snack, or when Fred was being particularly difficult so Ellie let him lie next to her on the couch while she was on the conference call. Once, Fred had woken up when Hardy was in the middle of explaining a particularly difficult section of case law, interrupting him to say, “Mummy, who is that man? Why does he talk funny?” </p><p>So, Ellie had had to stop Alec right there and introduce him to Fred, and explain that in Scotland people talked differently. That led them off the rails even more, as it turned out that Fred was very curious about what this man on the computer with lots of hair was doing talking to his mum. Alec indulged Fred many more questions than Ellie usually had patience for, and she let them chat about beards and police training for longer than she should. </p><p>Apart from the Zoom meetings that inevitably devolved into an opportunity to critique how messy the background living area looked, Alec started calling during the day sometimes as well. Ellie had a feeling it was because he had no other friends to turn to just to check in with or complain to. That made her feel a little bad for him, but happy that she could hopefully provide some reassurance to him. And it helped her take her mind off her own problems.</p><p>Ellie was grateful for the regular interaction with someone who wasn’t one of her children, but that didn’t stop her from craving more. In particular, she was feeling what she believed was called touch starved. She supposed a lot of people were feeling it right now (would she ever shake someone’s hand again? Had they entered a post-handshake world?). Especially those who were quarantined alone, like Alec. She wasn’t sure what the extended lack of human contact would do to him, but to Ellie, it made her lie in her bed at night and drape her arm across her stomach with as much weight as possible. She’d grip the side of her chest and pretend that it was someone else’s hand. Imagine another warm body close to hers, someone’s steady breath on her cheek, hand in her hair. </p><p>It was enough to drive her mad. It wasn’t as if she went around hugging people constantly under normal circumstances, and she didn’t even feel ready to <em>be </em>with someone yet, so soon after the trial. And yet, she felt as if she were a princess trapped inside a tower, yearning for someone, <em>anyone</em>, to lay a tender hand on her. Brush the hair back from her face and plant kisses along her temple. Firmly being held against someone’s chest—it all appealed to her so much right now. And there was no way it was going to happen any time soon. </p><p>Time had a weird way of going by, in large chunks that felt simultaneously like a blip and an eternity. The one benefit was that Ellie’s prior life, married to Joe and under the impression that she was happy, seemed like eons ago. She could barely remember the time before quarantine, a time when she took the kids to school, enjoyed large gatherings with friends, kissed Joe good night instead of falling asleep with an arm and a leg sprawled across the empty side of the bed.   </p><p>---</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Some time later </strong>
  </em>
</p><p>The moonlight seeped through the windows of the upstairs corridor, pale and bright. It made Ellie want to go outside, go for a walk and point her face towards the stars, knowing that no one else would be out roaming the streets. She could walk along the cliffs and watch the reflection of the moon rippling in the unsteady waters, without running into anyone.  </p><p>The clock next to her bed ticked towards 2 am as she tried to close her eyes against the beam of moonlight. It was exceedingly difficult, because the excitement and apprehension she felt was practically uncontainable. Tomorrow she was finally going to meet Alec Hardy in person. </p><p>In slow stages, things had been approaching “normal” in Broadchurch, and most businesses had returned to almost pre-quarantine operations. There was an opening for the position of detective inspector in Broadchurch CID, and there were interviews being held throughout the upcoming week. Ellie had finished the theoretical part of her detective training, but still needed to complete field work. If all went well, she’d be working alongside Hardy until she was qualified to apply for a full-time position as detective sergeant. </p><p>She felt as if she knew him as well as some of her oldest friends, but she still had no idea how tall he was, how he walked, what colour his hair turned when it was hit by a streak of sunlight. They’d talked for hours on end, and he knew a lot about her, but that didn’t stop her from feeling like she was about to meet a total stranger. How awkward would it be when they finally shook hands and officially introduced themselves? Part of her felt like it was wishful thinking to believe that they would be able to simply pick up their last conversation and jump into a friendship that wasn’t hindered by the fact that they’d technically met online. </p><p>In the morning, Ellie walked Tom and Fred over to the Latimers. Hardy had texted when he left to drive to Broadchurch, putting his estimated arrival time at around 11:30. They’d planned to meet on the pier near the police station and walk somewhere for lunch before Alec’s interview. </p><p>It was an unusually sunny day, brightening the faces of people who were already ecstatic just to be able to go about their usual, unconfined business. Although it had been an exceedingly difficult period, the effects of which would be felt for much time to come, the villagers were more supportive and caring of each other than ever before. As Ellie walked up from the station car park and out to the pier, no one gave her a look of thinly-veiled suspicion or obvious pity. It was pure glee all around, people waving enthusiastically, marvelling at the beautiful weather, asking after family. </p><p>Tourists had not yet flooded the area, since unnecessary travel was still not encouraged. The pier was not as busy as it would normally be at this time of year, but there was a smattering of happy locals enjoying ice creams, looking off into the horizon. Ellie checked her watch—11:28. Alec might be about to walk up at any moment, if he’d managed to find the station easily. It wasn’t exactly easy to get lost in a town this small, so chances were he was already here and making his way down to the water. </p><p>She scanned the pier for an open bench, then did a double take when she spotted a lone figure on a bench halfway down. He was in a dark suit, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, looking off towards the water. Ellie couldn’t see his face, but before he turned his head, she already knew it was him. It was funny—she’d never seen any part of him except for a two-dimensional image of his face from the front. But there was something incredibly familiar about the way his hair curled above the nape of his neck, the slope of his back, the way his hands were clasped together.  </p><p>As he turned his head, the wind whipped his fringe across his forehead, tousling his dark hair more than it already was. The bright sunlight directly overhead shone a reddish hue into the locks, and made him look young and energetic even as he squinted in the light. When their eyes met, Ellie couldn’t help but smile widely, a smile that had been hiding just below the surface ever since she’d found out Alec was coming to Broadchurch. </p><p>He returned the smile and stood up. He was taller than she’d been expecting, and thinner. It felt a little like she was meeting a celebrity—someone she was familiar with from seeing on a screen, finally right in front of her. He was exactly how she’d pictured him, but seeing him in person brought out features she could never have noticed from just seeing him on video. There were freckles across his nose, and his limbs were gangly. He looked happy to see her. </p><p>She was stopped a few feet away from the bench, and he walked forward to close the distance between them. His arms were slightly outstretched in the universal offer of a hug. Ellie couldn’t think of anything she wanted more, so she stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Given the fact that he had a heart condition, she’d expected that he’d be rather frail. Now, pressed against his chest, she could feel that despite being extremely thin, his body did not feel as fragile as she’d imagined. He had the build of a man who used to be athletic; still somewhat strong despite his wiriness. </p><p>They broke out of the hug and Ellie looked up into his earnest brown eyes. Alec put his hands in his pocket and gestured towards the High Street. “Any good pubs round here that do food besides fish and chips?” </p><p>Ellie was surprised to find that she didn’t know what to say. If she opened her mouth, she was certain that her voice wouldn’t work. So she simply held out her hand, and gestured towards the town that felt more like home than ever. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i miss people, places, and things !!</p><p>credit to rashida jones i think for the "post-handshake world" comment</p><p>hope you all are staying safe, and i hope maybe this story was uplifting in some way??</p><p>feel free to comment or find me on tumblr <a href="https://georginabulsara.tumblr.com/">here</a> or <a href="https://georginawriting.tumblr.com/">here</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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